In a significant rejig of India’s 2025 international home calendar, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has confirmed several high-profile venue changes for both the men’s and women’s national teams, while also revealing the itinerary for the upcoming South Africa A tour. Notably, Hyderabad finds itself excluded yet again from the list of hosts for international matches, continuing a trend that has raised eyebrows in cricketing circles.
Major Test venue swaps to tackle Delhi’s winter pollution
The biggest headline from BCCI’s updated schedule is the strategic swapping of Test venues between Delhi and Kolkata. Citing pollution concerns in the capital during winter, the BCCI decided to move the high-profile Test between India and South Africa away from New Delhi.
“Team India (Senior Men) will be facing West Indies and South Africa across Test matches, One-Day Internationals (ODIs), and Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) at home, with the IDFC First Bank Test series against West Indies starting on 2nd October 2025 in Ahmedabad. The 2nd Test against West Indies, originally slated for Kolkata, will now be held at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. Meanwhile, the 1st Test against South Africa, starting November 14, 2025, has been shifted from New Delhi to Eden Gardens in Kolkata,” BCCI said in a release.
The shift was widely anticipated given the toxic smog conditions that typically blanket Delhi in November, just weeks after Diwali. Last year, similar concerns prompted questions about scheduling during peak pollution periods in the region.
Chennai ruled out, New Chandigarh and Delhi to host women’s ODIs
The women’s international calendar also saw major updates. The highly anticipated ODI series between India Women and Australia Women, originally scheduled to be held entirely in Chennai, has now been relocated.
Ongoing pitch and outfield renovations at MA Chidambaram Stadium have forced the series move. The first two ODIs will be hosted by the New PCA Stadium in New Chandigarh—marking its debut as a venue for women’s international cricket—while the third and final game will be played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. This marks a return for women’s ODI cricket to the capital after a gap of nearly three decades, with previous matches hosted there in 1985 and 1995.
India A vs South Africa A: venue shift for one-dayers
India A’s tour schedule against South Africa A has also been slightly modified. While the two multi-day games will go ahead at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru as originally planned, the three one-day matches have been moved from the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium to the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot. The one-dayers will take place between November 13–19, 2025.
Hyderabad continues to miss out
Despite its stature as a top-tier venue and its initial allocation of key IPL playoff matches earlier this year—which were later reassigned—Hyderabad has again been left off the map for major international fixtures in 2025. No official reason was provided by the BCCI for Hyderabad’s exclusion, but the repeated snub has not gone unnoticed.
This marks yet another setback for the city, which has been under increasing scrutiny from fans and cricket stakeholders due to its continued absence from marquee events on the domestic and international calendar.
A packed home season ahead
With West Indies and South Africa scheduled to tour India across formats, and South Africa A and Australia Women adding further depth to the calendar, the 2025 home season promises to be one of the busiest in recent years.
While most of the schedule remains unchanged, these venue adjustments reflect the BCCI’s evolving approach to player welfare, infrastructure readiness, and environmental conditions—an increasingly critical factor in modern-day scheduling.
